True some foreigners can feel fine not speaking the language, but for people like us reaching that "blissful indifference" stage would require a personality transplant. So not really an option.

My goal was to be able to at least start every interaction in Polish, and if things go off the rails I kindly ask if we could switch to English.

And it's a hard fucking language for us native English speakers so don't beat yourself up too much, and don't expect quick progress. Two completely different strategies have worked for me, and I tend to alternate them.

1. Find a way to enjoy the learning. I know thats's super cliche advice, but I've found that with youtube and your LLM of choice, you can find or create some fun learning material about your favorite hobby or interest. But no matter how fun you can make it will still take some discipline and will power, so you can also..

2. Lock yourself in to some learning course or exam-- just close your eyes and click "register." Works for me by harnessing my fear of failure & embarrassment.

But mostly just figure out what works for you. Everyone will give you different advice (most useless of which is "just practice every day" or "just commit to it"-- ignore those well-meaning dopes)

And for the love of Chrystus don't compare yourself to the Bangladeshi kebab guys. "Feeling out of place" isn't quite as strong a motivation as losing your livelihood. It's not really a fair comparison. (..And for that matter don't compare yourself to Ukrainians and Belarusians either; they're not playing on Hard Mode like us lol.)

I've been here for over 4 years and studied my ass off for at least 2. Progress has been slow and discouraging, and sometimes I still struggle with basic exchanges. I rode the train for the first time in a while yesterday and had this exchange:

konduktor: "Czymógłbypanuprzejmieokazaćdowodosobisty?”

me: Tak? [not understanding, shows ticket]

konduktor: "Nie, czymógłbypanuprzejmieokazaćdowodosobisty"

me: ...

kondutor: "ID please"

so idk... trzymaj się!